Holden joins Malibu development program

Holden has announced that company engineers are collaborating with counterparts in North America for the development of GM's new global mid-size sedan, the Malibu.

The local engineers, specialising in powertrain calibration, are based at the company's Lang Lang (Victoria) proving ground where much of the testing will take place, but the Malibu will also get the occasional outing on public roads, including Phillip Island.

While Holden is keeping 'mum' on most aspects of the work, the Carsales Network has been informed that the sole Malibu here is undergoing testing in the context of a 'global' calibration exercise — not for Australia and NZ alone.

The company won't reveal whether the vehicle in question is petrol or diesel, but the latter would make sense, in view of the car's North American launch, pencilled in for early next year. That suggests engineers in the US have already worked the bugs out of the 2.5-litre direct-injected petrol engine that will power the Malibu in the US and Canada — and also other markets, Australia likely being one.

In contrast, Holden's local testing will continue until the end of 2012, several months after the launch of the Malibu across the Pacific — and around the time that the new sedan is launched locally. It's expected the car will be introduced elsewhere, subsequent to the Australian release. Diesel will presumably play an important part in the marketing strategy for the Malibu in those countries. Eventually the Malibu will be sold in close to 100 countries in total, not many of them as diesel-averse as the Americas.

GM's decision to hand some of the work to Holden has been explained by an insider at Fishermans Bend as recognition of results the local R&D bods have achieved recently — in the form of the Chevy Camaro and the Pontiac G8. Reading between the lines, former Holden MD Mark Reuss, now a big-wig in Detroit, may have pushed for Holden's involvement too.

The Malibu program is not the first time a powertrain systems development team working at Holden has been involved in a global project, we're told. Apparently Holden staff have previously participated in the development of the 2.4-litre petrol engine for the Captiva.

And as recently as March, we reported that Holden was testing a current model Buick LaCrosse, which is built on the same Epsilon II platform that underpins the new-gen Malibu.

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